"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" See More...

Repent & Believe

Tuesday, August 14, 2012

What is “Freedom in Christ” ? What am I free from?

Freedom from Sin and Satan - The world is characterized by slavery to sin and to Satan, the spiritual father of all who are unsaved. Every human being is born spiritually dead in “bondage” and begins his life as a servant of sin in Satan’s kingdom. Those who remain in Satan’s dominion are likened to prisoners, according to 2 Tim 2:26b, “… who are taken captive by him at his will”. Jesus tells us in John 8:32, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”. God saves and sets His people free through the truth of His Word, as we read in Jam 1:18. The word “begat” means to be “brought forth”, or to be spiritually “born from above”. When that happens, the new believer goes from being a slave of sin to being a slave of righteousness, or a slave (servant) of Jesus Christ. Rom 6:18 declares, “Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness”.

John 8:32-36 “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.”

Eph 2:1-5 “And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; 2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. 4But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, 5Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)”

Acts 26:18 “[God has appointed Paul and hence all who are saved to proclaim Gospel] To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”

Freedom from Second Death in Hell - Bible highlights man’s enslavement to sin and to Satan and, unless saved, his final destiny – eternal damnation in Hell. In Mat 1:21, we learn, “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: forhe shall save his people from their sins”. The only way that He could save His people from their sins, was to become sin on their behalf and He forfeited His own life in order to ransom His people from slavery to Satan and bondage to sin. God the Son, Who is perfectly holy, harmless [innocent], and undefiled became unholy, guilty, and defiled in paying for the sins of each Christian. In John 3:7 the Bible declares, “Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again”. This “new birth” is referred to as “first resurrection” in Rev 20:6, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection [born again]: on such the second death hath no power”. It is God’s grace that provides salvation for every child of God through the work and the faith of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Rom 7:5 “For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.”

1 Cor 15:54-57 “... Death is swallowed up in victory. 55O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Rev 20:6 “Blessed and holy ishe that hath part in the first resurrection [born again]: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years [eternity].”

1 Pet 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, whichaccording to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again [born again] unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, 5Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”

John 11:25-26 “Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead [spiritually dead because of Adam's sin], yet shall he live [have eternal life]: 26And whosoever liveth [born again] and believeth in me shall never die [shall not taste second death in hell]...”

Freedom from Law of God - Rom 4:15a informs us that “… the law worketh wrath”. In other words, the wrath of God abiding on a person can also be described as being eternally “under the curse”. This means that because we cannot obey every commandment in the Bible perfectly – only Christ did that – we are subject to the greatest curse imaginable unless God, in His great mercy, grants us everlasting forgiveness. The reason the Law (which is the whole Bible) is called “the strength [power] of sin” is because it exposes our sin and guilt before God. Moreover, it drives God’s elect to see their overwhelming need for a Savior, as Gal 3:24 explains. In essence the “Law”, or the “book of the Law”, refers to the whole Bible – the “sword of the Spirit”. The two edges of that “sword” signify its roles of either inflicting eternal damnation by the law of sin and death, or providing eternal life by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, as seen in Rom 8:2. These are the two main messages of the Gospel of Christ. Rom 8:2 declares, “... the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death”.

Jam 2:10 “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

Rom 3:20 “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”

Gal 3:11,13 “But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. 13Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:”

2 Cor 5:21 “For he [God the Father] hath made him [God the Son] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Phil 3:9 “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:”

Rom 7:2-4 “For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. 3So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. 4Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God.”

Saved to Serve Christ - The Christian, by God’s grace, has been set free from spiritual bondage to sin. Acts 26:18 pictures the transfer of power and spiritual metamorphosis that occurs when one experiences birth from above to become a servant of Christ. In the incisive passage, Rom 8:5-8, God is making the distinction between the saved and the unsaved. The phrases “after the flesh” and “carnally minded” describe the nature of one who is unsaved and in the kingdom of Satan. On the other hand, the language “after the Spirit” and “spiritually minded” illustrate the nature of a “born-again” Christian – one who has become a citizen of God’s kingdom. The words of 2 Cor 5:17-21 depict the wonderful salvation that God has provided by His infinite mercy and grace. Those who have been redeemed are the servants of God, and they live to do His divine bidding, to be “ambassadors for Christ”. True believers have been raised from spiritual death to life and have an insatiable desire to be obedient to the Word of God. Rom 6:12-13 becomes part of the new “marching orders”(the whole Bible) the believer now follows.

Col 1:13 “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:”

Rom 8:5-8 “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”

2 Cor 5:17-21 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Rom 6:12-13 “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.”

1 John 5:3-4 “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. 4For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”